Let's sew, knit, weave or otherwise craft something and then talk about it to no one in particular, shall we?

Menu

Accidentally Awesome

Every once in a while I have the pure joy of making something that just makes me want to squeal, “Eeeeeee!”. Even before it’s finished, I know I have something I’m going to love. Today was one of those days. Oh, and if you don’t love it, just keep it to yourself, Buzzkill.

Meet my Fauxberry Disco Clutch. Not since Tollhouse Cookies has a domestic catastrophe ultimately turned out so well. Back in December I sat down at my loom to try to make a Burberry inspired scarf I’d seen on Ravelry. I think I was so eager to get weaving that I got lazy in the vital prep stages. Weaving is not nearly as forgiving as knitting or sewing. If you make a mistake setting up the warp threads or miss a few strands as you’re picking the weft, it can be hours of work or downright impossible to fix. No seam rippers here.

I like to warp directly on my loom (if you’re not a weaver, just go get a cup of coffee here and catch up in a minute…) because it’s faster, but if you don’t pay careful attention to the tension you can have problems. I have experienced this before with other pieces I’ve woven, but as they weren’t plaids I could ultimately salvage the piece. In this case, the more I wove the more wonky my warp tension (and my plaid) became. When I stopped and attempted to “fix” it I just made it worse. There was no way to save this puppy. It was a tragic waste of yarn. I cut the 20-30″ of fabric I’d made off the loom and just couldn’t bear to throw it away. It was pretty, but it was never going to be a scarf.

It sat orphaned in my workroom, mocking me, until I saw the pattern for the Discotech Clutch from Sew Sweetness. It was cute, small and simple. Oh yeah, did I mention it was also free? Sara, from Sew Sweetness, makes the most amazing bags, and I own and love two of her books, but this one was a freebie. Maybe, just maybe, I could make something of that mess after all.

Since I’ve never actually CUT anything I’ve woven – you know, because I’m not insane – I wasn’t sure how this would work out. I may have gone overboard to stabilize the fabric. It’s a loose weave wool and I didn’t want it unravelling on me. Ever. I fused lightweight interfacing to the wrong side before cutting out the pattern. Then I applied a bead of Fray Block all around the edge inside what would become the seam allowance. Then I ran an overcast stitch all around the edge with my sewing machine. Then I sacrificed a live chicken to the gods. Only then did I begin to assemble.

The actual assembly of the bag was a snap. It’s a great pattern. It even has handy pockets on the inside.

If there’s anything I don’t love about the bag it’s that handle. I chose a cheap one because I was experimenting. The pattern calls for a similar, but nicer quality handle. But this will do, and hopefully I’m the only one who’ll notice. When I cut the holes for the handles there was more Fray Block and some UHU fabric glue, swearing, and finger crossing. And, oh Lordy, were there some serious fumes! Thankfully they dissipated in about 30 minutes.

Here’s the other side:I wish I’d photographed this from the side, because I’m seriously proud of how the plaids all align at the seams. I’m so fancy.

As soon as the fumes cleared, I filled it up (it’s tiny so it didn’t take long…) and headed off to do some shopping looking extra chic. I’m pretty sure I was the envy of everyone at Petco. 🙂